waseem

I see the current discussions on Qur'an Sunnah and hadith and then ask myself, among all these diversifications where lies the true Islam and the true Muslim. I confess that my knowledge is very limited, but the desire runs high to learn and to serve.

I ask myself, what does religion mean to me and what is its importance ? why is it necessary? I think of it as a beacon, energy and force of guidance to succeed. For me According to religion, the purpose of our lives is to please God; which leads us to Paradise. To attain this we need to develop purification. This encompasses positive enhancement and moulding of the good in our soul, and purification and purging of the bad. The purpose of religion is to help us attain purification; both in our individual and collective lives. In the Qur'an, God states, successful is he, who has cleansed himself (87:14). Simply cut out the bad and enhance the good.

I ask myself how did Islam spread at the time of Prophet (sws) and sahabha? By dialogue, lengthy debates or discussions, munaazarah, by sword, by force? I look at the personality of prophet (sws) the Qur'an addresses him as 'We sent you thee not, but as a mercy for all creations" 21:107.As I understand the sahabha were not the biggest scholars of religion but believed in "sameena wa attanah" listened and obeyed. Whatever they learned the practically applied and demonstrated in their lives. The Qur'an was completed in over 20 years and we must remember they did not have e-mails, computers to spread it. The prophet (sws) was called sadiq and ameen by the non believers.

In Qur'an I have the guidance and in prophet's (sws) life I have the practical demonstration to succeed. How did the prophet react with the nasranees in Madinah, allowing them to pray on Sunday in Masjid i Nabwi. What did the prophet pbuh say to aal i Yasser when they were torchered in Makkah? did he say he will resort to suicide bombing and avenge them? his response was," patience ! Allah has promised Paradise".

For Muslims of today, what has become important is to say namaz and fast for a month and follow a particular sect and accumulate knowledge as stipulated by that school of thought and negate all the other views, sometimes accusing them of being misguided and also warning them of serious consequences in their eternal future. Why do we forget that we are a Muslim 24/7. We are a Muslim every time we say or do anything. Accountability is for everything. Only Allah knows our eternal fate. The Qur'an says

Indeed, those who have believed [in this Prophet] and those, who became Jews and the Nasaaraa and the Sabians, whoever [truly] believes in God and the Day of Judgment and does good deeds; they shall have their reward with their Lord and they shall neither have fear [for the future] nor any remorse [for the past].

On one side the sunni's and shiat's are fighting on the other side some negate hadith others make it a source of religion. So where lies the deen i haq? I ask.

Is it just coincidence that Muslims everywhere are being humiliated and are the laughing stock of the entire world. The word Muslim has become almost synonymous with terror, anger , rage and disruption?

It is not about just knowledge but its practical application. How we conduct ourselves, how we present our religion to other Muslims and non Muslims. I find abundant knowledge and big scholars but alas! I struggle to find a true Muslim Why?

assalamu alakyum. Where on the net can I find the meaning of various Dua's used in Salaat.
 

I really appreciate for a very thought provoking article trying to hit the root cause of all the problems without being fooled by the symptoms.

Why do we need religion? Why should we be Muslims? I guess this is the basic question that all the scholars must be focusing on.

Is religion an external thing being imposed by us on ourselves? or its the sound of nature from within ourselves, as claimed by the Muslims (they say that every child is born on his fitrah and hence is Muslim). If religion is the answer or sound of our inner selves then we first need to identify the basic questions that rise from within? We should not only determine those but finding an answer of those questions must also hold a significant place within our lives. This is described in Quran as Noor upon Noor. If we don't feel any sound from within ourselves then this religion is just an external thing and will merely be used for specific occasions, slogans, demands from government etc etc etc, while the daily life will be empty from it. Pakistan is a classic example of it.

The only thing religion does, in my humble and extremely limited knowledge is that it makes the life after death an issue for humans in a way that this issue not only encompasses his whole life but also becomes the top most priority. (Quran says that Allah has sent his messengers as Bashirs and Nazirs).

Secondly it tells us that purification is the only way you can succeed in life hereafter. Thats what the whole philosophy of religion revolves around. And while giving his Shariah Allah doesn't give a comprehensive list of all the things that we need to do it only picks up a handful of issues and gives his guidance. Why is that? If we had to be purified then we of course need a long and big list of things we need to do to be successful. From Quran we know that Allah hasn't created humans without any guidance. Rather humans have built-in not only concept of good and bad but also the details of them upon which the collective human history itself is the biggest evidence.

So keeping above and the issues faced by Muslims in mind, what we need to do is:

a) Get rid of the fancy and hallucinative glasses of Islam that we use to betray ourselves and hide from the ground realities.

b) Just start thinking that we are a natural and normal human beings and what should we do. This will not only help us look at and accept the ground realities but will also help us understands the laws governing the success of individuals and the rise/falls of nations. There will be some question also to which the Islam has the answers.

May Allah show us the right path and give us the courage to accept and follow it.

waseem

enclosed is a response from another web site which in my opinion is the correct reflection of Muslims

Just wanted to add an observation. We Muslims wail for progress, talk about the glorious past of our ancestors. Wish there was a scholar that would work to that end, salvage our past and lead us in a new direction. We wait for messiahs, for Imams, for leaders.

But when we get some, we spend no time in ripping that person to pieces.

It's the same when people were waiting for leaders in the Age of Prophets, but as soon as a Prophet would reach them, they'd turn around and persecute them.

It's like we have made up our minds already on what Islam should be or should not be. We talk of women rights against a back drop of honor killings, foul hudood laws on rape, and wish they were changed, Yet when someone does aim at them, we critique those very scholars.

We want to return to pristine Islam, to the older scholars, but we refuse to believe the allowance of the Prophet on women leading prayers, we say to hell with Ibn Rushd who emphasized reason. We refuse to even talk on controversial issues, while at the same time emphasize Islam's tradition of dialogue.

We are mired with contradictions as a people.

waseem

In my humble opinion, at every step of life when I encounter a scenario, I have two options, to react like myself, or to think how my religion would expect me to react.

Not surprisingly my way is always different, emotional, impulsive and reactive to situation. Whenever I have distanced myself and thought about the Islamic way, it is invariably the correct way. Foe me the journey of life is to try and make these two ways amalgamate somewhere.

CHARACTERISTICS OF A GOOD MUSLIM

Muslim is one who is willing to give up pleasure for long-term gains (Aakhirah).

Muslim is one who has the ability to settle differences without resentment or anger

Muslim is one who perseveres despite setbacks.

Muslim is one who knows life is too short to waste in idle activities.

Muslim is one who has no prejudice, intolerance, hatred or revenge.

Muslim is one who has the capacity to face disappointments and adversity without becoming bitter.

Muslim is one who accepts his mistakes and who does not complain that the rose bush has thorns but rejoices that it bears roses.

Muslim is one whose needs conform to the Qur'anic commands and those of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him).

Muslim is one who makes Jihad (struggle) to change things, which he can and who lives in peace with things that he cannot change.

Muslim is one who gently and constantly questions himself/herself "AM I A MUSLIM?"

A Muslim meets his brother with a smiling face (he restrains from anger and is forgiving). The Prophet (pbuh) said: "Do not think little of any good deed even if it is just greeting your brother with a cheerful countenance [face] {MUSLIM}. The Prophet (pbuh) said: "Your smiling at your brother is an act of charity {Sadaqah}" {al-TIRMIDHI who said it is Hasan gharib}.

The Muslim should always be pure of heart and should have a cheerful and friendly face. He should meet his brother with warmth and smiles. There's no excuse--Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) always had a warm smile on his face even though he went through hardships, torture, and suffering in this life.

"... [those] who restrain anger and pardon {all} men- for Allah loves
those who do good." [Translation of the Qur'an-Al-Imran 3:134]

The true Muslim restrains his anger and is forgiving. He does not see any shame in doing so, rather he sees it as a good deed which will bring him closer to Allah (SWT).

He has a good attitude towards others and treats them well. Anas (RA) said: "I served the Messenger of Allah (SAWS) for ten years, and he never said to me 'UFF!'. If I did something, he never said, "Why did you do that?" And if I did not do something, he never
said, "Why did you not do such-and-such? [Agreed Upon]

The Prophet (pbuh) said: "Among the best of you are those who have the best attitude (towards others)". [Agreed upon]

He (SAWS) also said: "Nothing will weigh more heavily in the balance of the believing servant on the Day of Resurrection than a good attitude (towards others). Verily Allah hates those who utter vile words and obscene speech." [Al-Tirmidhi, Hasan Sahih hadith]

The true Muslim has a good attitude. He is humble and soft and gentle in his speech. He does not use bad language or insult others. He is patient, gentle, forgiving, tolerant, cheerful, and sincere towards others.

waseem

A true Muslim submits to the truth when revealed to him.